Written Answers Wednesday 19 August 2009

Scottish Executive

Bees

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timescale was between its becoming aware of the outbreak of European foulbrood in Tayside and measures being implemented to inform beekeepers.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government informed the two main beekeeping associations (Scottish Beekeepers Association and the Beefarmers Association) within 48 hours of the confirmation of European foulbrood (EFB).

Birds

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-22989 by Roseanna Cunningham on 7 May 2009, whether the trial of flying falcons over Dumfries town centre to deter nesting and breeding gulls has been completed.

Roseanna Cunningham: The trial to evaluate the effectiveness of using falcons to deter gulls from nesting and breeding in Dumfries town centre was completed on 22 May 2009.

Birds

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-22989 by Roseanna Cunningham on 7 May 2009, when the results of the evaluation by the Central Science Laboratory of the trial of flying falcons over Dumfries town centre to deter nesting and breeding gulls will be available

Roseanna Cunningham: The Central Science Laboratory now operates as part of the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA). The agency are currently compiling and analysing the data collected during this first year of the trial and are due to present their findings in a report at the end of August 2009.

Birds

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the RSPB’s award of red status to herring gulls will affect the methods that local authorities such as Dumfries and Galloway Council are permitted to use to deter herring gulls from breeding and nesting in town centres.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the principal differences are between the methods permissible for deterring breeding and nesting by urban gulls such as herring gulls, which have been awarded red status by the RSPB, and those such as lesser black backed gulls, which have been awarded amber status.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the methods permitted for deterring breeding and nesting by urban gulls will be affected in areas of mixed colonies of gulls awarded red status, such as herring gulls, by the RSPB, and gulls awarded amber status, such as lesser blacked gulls.

Roseanna Cunningham: Where actions by local authorities to control or manage gulls require consent, this would normally be available under the terms of Scottish Government general licence (see link below) which allows control of certain birds, including herring gulls, for the protection of public health, public safety and to prevent the spread of disease, for preventing serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables and fruit and to protect air safety. I have no plans at present to remove the herring gull from the scope of these general licences.

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/Wildlife-Habitats/16330/general-licences/2008.

Civil Service Relocation

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil service jobs have been relocated from Edinburgh to Perth and Kinross since May 2007.

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil service jobs have been relocated from Edinburgh to Angus since May 2007.

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil service jobs have been relocated from Edinburgh to Stirling since May 2007.

John Swinney: Decisions about the relocation of Scottish Government functions will be considered in terms of ensuring the best use of the existing government estate, providing the best value for money for the Scottish Government as a whole and maintaining or improving the operational effectiveness of the function in question. This approach means that relocation is an option, and will only be pursued following a rigorous and transparent process that shows there are efficiencies for Scotland and that the move provides best possible value for money.

Council Tax

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it undertakes to monitor the work of valuation boards with regard to council tax bandings.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not routinely monitor the work of valuation boards, which act independently of the government.

Council Tax

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers the present six-month time limit on appeals with regard to council tax bandings to be appropriate.

John Swinney: Regulations state that an appeal must be lodged within six months. In practice, the Scottish assessors may relax this requirement in the interests of fairness, for example where a genuine valuation error has occurred. This seems reasonable. However, we remain committed to the abolition of council tax and its replacement with a fairer local tax based on ability to pay.

Council Tax

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it issues to valuation boards with regard to the appeals process for council tax bandings.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not issue guidance to valuation boards in relation to the appeals process.

Council Tax

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what further consideration it has given since April 2009 to alternatives to the council tax for funding local government.

John Swinney: As I said in Parliament on 11 February 2009 "the Cabinet has decided not to introduce legislation to abolish the unfair council tax and replace it with a local income tax until after the election in 2011. However, the government will fight that election to win a parliamentary majority that backs the abolition of the unfair council tax". We are continuing to work to prepare for that outcome.

Credit Unions

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial awards it made to credit unions in 2008, broken down by (a) award, (b) credit union and (c) funding stream.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government made 17 awards totalling £126,840 to the following credit unions in 2008 through the Scottish Credit Union Assistance Fund.

  Cowie Community Credit Union - £8,040.

  Ruchill Credit Union - £6,500.

  Ruchazie, Garthamlock and CU - £10,000.

  Greater Govan Credit Union - £10,000.

  Renfrewshire-wide Credit Union - £2,800.

  Hamilton Credit Union - £10,000.

  North Glasgow Credit Union - £7,000.

  Grampian Credit Union - £4,500.

  East Kilbride Credit Union - £10,000.

  ML9 Credit Union - £6,000.

  Cranhill Credit Union - £10,000.

  Thorniewood Credit Union - £9,000.

  Wishaw Credit Union - £9,000.

  Croy and Kilsyth Credit Union - £5,500.

  Tay Valley Credit Union - £2,000.

  Glenburn Credit Union - £8,000.

  White Cart Credit Union - £8,500.

  Funding for credit unions was also available through the Fairer Scotland Fund. The Fairer Scotland Fund is disbursed through local authority community planning partnerships. Details of awards made are not available at present.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether people with haemophilia who have regularly received blood products are at risk of (a) contracting or (b) carrying variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD).

Nicola Sturgeon: Blood transfusion remains safe in relation to the risks of other medical and surgical treatments. However, no medical procedure, including blood transfusion, can be entirely free of risk. Haemophilia patients have previously been informed by their doctors of their possible increased risk of exposure to vCJD via clotting factors.

  Since the risk of vCJD transmission through blood was first considered, a number of precautionary measures have been introduced to minimise the risk from the UK blood supply. UK plasma has not been used for the manufacture of clotting factors since 1999 and synthetic clotting factors are provided for all patients for whom they are suitable.

Crime

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many offences on public transport were recorded by Lothian and Borders Police in each of the last three years, broken down by type of offence.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.

  The Scottish Government does not hold individualised data on any crimes or offences recorded by the eight police forces in Scotland, and as such does not hold information on the victims of crimes or the location at which the crime took place. It is not therefore possible to identify the number of offences on public transport recorded by Lothian and Borders Police, in each of the last three years.

Dentistry

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the planned number of dentists in post is per 1,000 population in the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross constituency in June 2010.

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people living in the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross constituency it expects to be waiting to be registered with NHS dental practices in June 2010.

Shona Robison: NHS Highland has a development plan in place for increasing access to primary care dental services over the period 2009-13. Information about the board’s plans can be obtained from Dr Ken Proctor, Associate Medical Director (Primary Care), NHS Highland, Assynt House, Beechwood Park, Inverness, IV2 3BW.

Domestic Abuse

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the most recent meeting of the Domestic Abuse Accommodation and Support Provision Working Group took place.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Domestic Abuse Accommodation and Support Provision Working Group has been re-named the Domestic Abuse Accommodation and Support Provision Action Plan Implementation Group. The most recent meeting of the group took place on 7 May 2009. The timing was planned to enable the implementation group to feed into the meeting of the National Group to Address Violence Against Women which took place on 19 May 2009.

Domestic Abuse

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the next meeting of the Domestic Abuse Accommodation and Support Provision Working Group will take place

Nicola Sturgeon: The Domestic Abuse Accommodation and Support Provision Working Group has been re-named the Domestic Abuse Accommodation and Support Provision Action Plan Implementation Group. The next meeting of the group will take place on 9 September 2009. The timing is planned to enable the implementation group to feed into the meeting of the National Group to Address Violence Against Women, which will take place on 22 September 2009.

Efficient Government

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether (a) plans are being put in place with and (b) what guidelines are offered to local authorities to encourage greater efficiency.

John Swinney: The annual targets for efficiencies in local government as a whole for 2008-11 are £174.7 million, £349.4 million and £524.1 million. The delivery of efficiencies is a matter for each local authority with monitoring being coordinated by COSLA. In addition to the guidance which is available to all on the Scottish Government website, Scottish Government officials work with COSLA to offer guidance on the programme as a whole and on specific issues which councils identify to COSLA.

Efficient Government

James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the £61 million costs attributed in the Audit Scotland report improving public sector purchasing to achieving £327 million savings have been deducted from its efficiency savings plans.

John Swinney: The Efficient Government Programme guidance states at paragraph 4.15 that, where development costs arise to meet a number of business objectives - and not solely to generate an efficiency saving - they should not be offset against efficiencies claimed. The Public Procurement Reform Programme, to which the £61 million figure applies, is focused on supporting continuous improvement in purchasing across public bodies. Since increased efficiency is just one of the programme’s objectives, it is not necessary to offset the development costs.

Employment

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what employment levels in the 15% most deprived areas were in (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) 2008.

John Swinney: The Annual Population Survey is the official source for national estimates of employment. The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation is used to define the 15% most deprived areas in Scotland.

  Rate and Level of Employment in the 15% Most Deprived Areas in Scotland, 2006-08

  

Year
Rate of Employment
Level of Employment


2006
56.1%
264,800


2007
58.6%
269,300


2008
60.0%
275,400



  Source: Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2006, Annual Population Survey.

Employment

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the most recent figures are for employment levels in the 15% most deprived areas.

John Swinney: The Annual Population Survey is the official source for national estimates of employment. The most recent data available is for 2008. The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation is used to define the 15% most deprived areas in Scotland.

  Rate and Level of Employment in the 15% Most Deprived Areas in Scotland, 2008

  

Year
Rate of Employment
Level of Employment


2008
60.0%
275,400



  Source: Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2006, Annual Population Survey.

Energy Efficiency

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent assessment has been made of progress towards meeting the target of making the Scottish Government estate carbon neutral by 2012.

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent assessment has been made of progress towards meeting the target of reducing CO2 emissions caused by energy use in Scottish Government buildings by 12.6% from 1999-2000 levels by March 2011.

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent assessment has been made of progress towards meeting the target of reducing CO2 emissions caused by energy use in Scottish Government buildings by 30% from 1999-2000 levels by March 2020.

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent assessment has been made of progress towards meeting the target of reducing carbon emissions from travel necessary for the Scottish Government’s administrative operations by 20% from 2005-06 levels by 2011.

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent assessment has been made of progress towards meeting the target of reducing carbon emissions from travel necessary for the Scottish Government’s administrative operations by 40% from 2005-06 levels by 2020.

John Swinney: Progress towards meeting environmental performance targets is detailed in the Scottish Government Environmental Performance Annual Report for 2007-08,  which was published in May 2009, copies of which are available in the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre (Bib. number 48458).

Energy Efficiency

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to publish details of the energy ratings of all its buildings.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government is currently working to produce energy performance certificates (EPCs), from which a building’s asset rating is taken, to be displayed in 16 large buildings on the estate during 2009. Operational ratings have been on display in these 16 buildings since 5 January 2009 which means that the government has gone beyond the minimum statutory requirements, underlying its commitment to leading by example. There are currently no plans to publish details of the energy ratings of all buildings on the core estate of the Scottish Government.

  The buildings on the core Scottish Government estate are not required to display energy performance certificates as laid out by The Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2008.

Health

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have been admitted to hospital after having objects left inside them during surgery in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is shown in the following table.

  Acute NHS hospital (non-obstetric, non-psychiatric) inpatient/day case discharges; number of patients1 with a diagnosis of foreign object accidentally left in body during surgical operation, years ending 31 March 2004 to 2008:

  

NHS Board of Residence
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008


All areas
56
64
48
53
59


Ayrshire and Arran
9
6
*
6
*


Borders
-
*
*
-
*


Dumfries and Galloway
-
*
*
*
*


Fife
6
5
*
6
8


Forth Valley
7
*
*
5
*


Grampian
-
7
*
9
5


Greater Glasgow and Clyde
13
20
10
15
12


Highland
8
*
5
*
*


Lanarkshire
*
6
5
*
8


Lothian
5
8
9
*
6


Tayside
*
*
*
5
7


Island boards3
*
-
*
*
*



  Source: SMR01 acute hospital inpatient and day case discharges.

  Notes:

  *Indicates values that have been suppressed due to the potential risk of disclosure.

  -Zero values.

  1. Individual patients are only counted once within any given year. Patients may be counted more than once across years.

  2. Cases have been selected using the International Classification of diseases 10th revision.

  (ICD10) codes:

  Y61.0 Foreign body accidentally left in body during surgical operation.

  T81.5 Foreign body accidentally left in body cavity or operation wound following a procedure.

  Acute hospital discharge summaries can record up to six diagnoses for each episode, a main diagnosis and up to five additional or supplementary diagnoses. All six positions have been examined to produce the figures shown in the table.

  3. Comprises Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles NHS boards.

Health

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of its total budget is allocated to (a) health improvement initiatives, (b) health promotion and (c) public health in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11.

Nicola Sturgeon: The following table shows the proportion of the Scottish Government budget allocated specifically for health improvement initiatives, health promotion and public health within the Health portfolio.

  However these only reflect new policy initiatives as much of the total spend on health improvement, health promotion and public health is through NHS boards who allocate significant funding from their baseline budgets to these areas.

  These figures are taken from the Budget (Scotland) Act 2009-10 and the Draft Budget (Scotland) Bill 2009-10. Although health improvement, health promotion and public health are not specific categories in the budget documents the figures include those items that are taken to directly relate to them.

  

 
2009-10 (£m)
2010-11 Provisional (£m)


Health Improvement Initiatives - budget
78.3
77.6


Health Promotion - budget
74.0
80.5


Public Health – budget 
78.6
99.2


Total
230.9
257.3


Total Scottish Government – DEL (incl capital)
28,666.1
30,356.9


Proportion of Total Budget allocated to:
 
 


Health Improvement Initiatives
0.3%
0.3%


Health Promotion
0.2%
0.3%


Public Health
0.3%
0.3%


Total
0.8%
0.9%



  Note: Drugs misuse funding of £33.4 million in 2009-10 (provisional figure of £32.8 million for 2010-11) is met from the Justice portfolio and is not included within the table.

Health

Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the population of each deprivation quintile is in each NHS board area, expressed also as a percentage of the total board area population.

John Swinney: The population in each deprivation quintile split by NHS board area is shown in table 1. Table 2 expresses this as a percentage of the total board area population. The figures are based on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) 2006 and Small Area Population Estimates for 2007.

  2007 Population estimates by NHS board area and SIMD quintile (SIMD Quintile 1 = most deprived, 5 = least deprived):

  Table 1: Numbers

  

NHS Board Area
SIMD Quintile
 


1
2
3
4
5
Total


Ayrshire and Arran
80,906
107,902
61,432
55,442
61,338
367,020


Borders
4,294
10,263
32,796
48,336
15,741
111,430


Dumfries and Galloway
12,019
26,710
54,191
44,580
10,800
148,300


Fife
60,581
72,116
77,343
79,961
70,499
360,500


Forth Valley
40,337
73,314
52,233
61,444
61,482
288,810


Grampian
33,434
64,152
122,071
147,104
168,529
535,290


Greater Glasgow and Clyde
445,062
204,821
156,729
164,969
220,675
1,192,256


Highland
23,862
54,108
117,382
83,308
30,130
308,790


Lanarkshire
139,834
148,371
126,417
79,077
66,045
559,744


Lothian
96,129
161,355
128,527
151,420
272,359
809,790


Orkney
0
969
7,531
9,517
1,843
19,860


Shetland
0
1,945
12,625
6,649
731
21,950


Tayside
66,011
67,689
66,655
125,679
68,126
394,160


Western Isles
0
17,114
8,390
796
0
26,300


Scotland
1,002,469
1,010,829
1,024,322
1,058,282
1,048,298
5,144,200



  Source: 2007 Small Area Population Estimates and SIMD 2006.

  Table 2: Percentages

  



  NHS Board Area


  SIMD Quintile
 




  1


  2


  3


  4


  5


  Total




  Ayrshire and Arran


  22.0


  29.4


  16.7


  15.1


  16.7


  100.0



Borders


  3.9


  9.2


  29.4


  43.4


  14.1


  100.0



Dumfries and Galloway


  8.1


  18.0


  36.5


  30.1


  7.3


  100.0



Fife


  16.8


  20.0


  21.5


  22.2


  19.6


  100.0



Forth Valley


  14.0


  25.4


  18.1


  21.3


  21.3


  100.0



Grampian


  6.2


  12.0


  22.8


  27.5


  31.5


  100.0



Greater Glasgow and Clyde


  37.3


  17.2


  13.1


  13.8


  18.5


  100.0




  Highland


  7.7


  17.5


  38.0


  27.0


  9.8


  100.0




  Lanarkshire


  25.0


  26.5


  22.6


  14.1


  11.8


  100.0




  Lothian


  11.9


  19.9


  15.9


  18.7


  33.6


  100.0




  Orkney


  0.0


  4.9


  37.9


  47.9


  9.3


  100.0




  Shetland


  0.0


  8.9


  57.5


  30.3


  3.3


  100.0




  Tayside


  16.7


  17.2


  16.9


  31.9


  17.3


  100.0




  Western Isles


  0.0


  65.1


  31.9


  3.0


  0.0


  100.0




  Scotland


  19.5


  19.6


  19.9


  20.6


  20.4


  100.0



  Source: 2007 Small Area Population Estimates and SIMD 2006.

Homelessness

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being put in place to ensure that there is ongoing monitoring and reporting on homelessness prevention as recommended in the recent guidance to local authorities on section 11 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006.

Nicola Sturgeon: Section 11 of the Homelessness etc (Scotland) Act 2003 was introduced on 1 April 2009, and guidance on this is available on the Scottish Government website. The Scottish Government, following discussion with CoSLA, will collect basic data from local authorities on notices received under section 11. This is being collected on a quarterly basis and comprises the number of notices received in the quarter, broken down to distinguish where they came from – lenders, social landlords or private landlords.

  A broader evaluation of the impact of the commencement of section 11 will be taken forward within the next year.

Housing

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-21079 by John Swinney on 11 March 2009, (a) how many and (b) what percentage of community councils had registered for the Directorate for the Built Environment’s e-alert system as at 1 July 2009, broken down by local authority.

John Swinney: As at 1 July 2009, there were 300 community councils (CCs) registered as subscribers to the Directorate for the Built Environment’s e-alert system, representing 25.8% of the total number of community councils across Scotland. See the following table for local authority (LA) breakdown.

  

Local Authority
Number of Active CCs
Number of CCs Registered by LA
Percentage Registered by LA


Aberdeen City Council 
23
8
34.8


Aberdeenshire Council
71
15
21.1


Angus Council
26
1
3.9


Argyll and Bute Council
54
17
31.5


Clackmannanshire Council
8
2
25.0


Dumfries and Galloway Council
91
19
20.7


Dundee City Council
5
1
20.0


East Ayrshire Council
30
5
16.7


East Dunbartonshire Council
12
4
33.3


East Lothian Council
20
6
30.0


East Renfrewshire Council
10
3
30.0


Edinburgh City Council
41
14
34.1


Eilean Siar Comhairle
28
1
3.6


Falkirk Council
19
4
21.0


Fife Council
85
25
29.4


Glasgow City Council
76
8
10.5


Highland Council
148
44
29.8


Inverclyde Council
10
3
30.0


Midlothian Council
16
8
50.0


Moray Council
15
7
46.7


North Ayrshire Council
14
8
57.1


North Lanarkshire Council
42
8
19.0


Orkney Islands Council
20
0
0.0


Perth and Kinross Council
47
16
34.0


Renfrewshire Council
22
3
13.6


Scottish Borders Council
63
19
30.2


Shetland Islands Council
18
3
16.7


South Ayrshire Council
26
10
38.5


South Lanarkshire Council
37
11
29.7


Stirling Council
43
12
27.9


West Dunbartonshire Council
10
6
60.0


West Lothian Council
35
9
25.7



  Notes:

  Between 1 July 2009 and 1 August 2009, a further six community councils registered for electronic alerts.

  Of more than 8,540 subscribers to the electronic alert system, around 290 other individual subscribers did not indicate on registration whether they have involvement with a community council.

Housing

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-21079 by John Swinney on 11 March 2009, which community councils in the Clydesdale constituency (a) have and (b) have not registered for the Directorate for the Built Environment’s e-alert system as at 1 July 2009, broken down by local authority.

John Swinney: The following active community councils in the South Lanarkshire Council area have been identified as being within the Clydesdale constituency. Those identified with an asterisk have registered for the Directorate for the Built Environment’s e-alert system.

  Ashgill and Netherburn,

  Biggar,

  Black Mount,

  Carluke,

  Carnwath,

  Clyde Valley,

  Coalburn,

  Crawford,

  Douglas,

  Duneaton*,

  Larkhall*,

  Leadhills*,

  Lesmahagow*,

  Libberton, Quothquan and Thanketon,

  New Lanark,

  Pettinain*,

  Royal Burgh of Lanark,

  Stonehouse,

  Symington,

  Tarbrax.

  The Scottish Government is not aware of any community councils within the Dumfries and Galloway Council area which are within the Clydesdale constituency.

Housing

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-25256 by Alex Neil on 22 July 2009, what the outcome of the meeting between the Minister for Housing and Communities and the UK Government Housing Minister was with regard to whether or not and how the historic housing debt can be erased.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Minister for Housing and Communities and the UK Government Housing Minister discussed many points of common interest including local authority housing debt at their meeting of 7 July. The meeting was not specifically about debt and did not discuss in detail how the housing debt can be erased as this is not within the powers of the Department of Communities and local government, nor indeed Scottish Government. The UK Treasury holds these powers and their position remains unchanged; which is that the debt can only be erased when a local authority transfers its stock out of the public sector. The Scottish Government intends to discuss further the issues around local authority housing debt as part of the National Conversation.

Local Authorities

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether plans are being put in place to mitigate the negative impact of political conflict in local authorities, which has been cited by Audit Scotland as a major inhibitor of improvement.

John Swinney: While the negative impact of political conflict was noted in a recent follow-up best value audit report of a council by the Accounts Commission, I am not aware that either the Accounts Commission for Scotland nor Audit Scotland, which undertakes work on behalf of the commission, have cited the negative impact of political conflict as a major inhibitor of improvement in local authorities generally. Both the commission’s Priorities and Risks Framework , which sets out key issues for council auditors to have regard to in their work, and its Overview of the Local Authority Audits , which describes the main issues identified from its local government audit work in 2008, highlight the importance of effective strategic leadership and governance by elected members. Neither document highlights political conflict as a particular issue of concern.

  The promotion of high standards in public life and effective political governance are, of course, essential to ensure and reinforce public confidence in the activities and responsibilities of Scottish councils. The Standards Commission for Scotland works to support councils in striving to achieve the highest standards of conduct. The Local Government Improvement Service, working alongside COSLA and SOLACE Scotland, provides support for councils in securing continuous improvement in how they govern and manage their business.

Local Government Finance

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is consistent with the principles of best value and transparency for a local authority chief executive or director of finance to refuse a request from an elected member for real-terms data for headline budgets such as the Scottish Government provides in its draft budget.

John Swinney: It is not for Scottish ministers to determine whether specific actions by a local authority are consistent with best value principles. This is a matter which an elected member should pursue through normal channels within the council.

Local Government Finance

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it is providing to local authorities for the provision of public toilet facilities.

John Swinney: The resources for the provision of public toilet facilities are included within the annual overall block grant provided through the local government finance settlement. It is for each local authority to allocate the total financial resources available to it, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled its statutory obligations and jointly agreed set of national and local priorities, including the Scottish Government’s key strategic objectives. For its part, the Scottish Government is providing local government in Scotland with record levels of funding; £23 billion over the period 2008-10.

Local Government Finance

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-25932 by John Swinney on 28 July 2009, whether it regards it as desirable that local authorities publish real terms data for their major spending programmes.

John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-25932 on 28 July 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Maternity Services

Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many births of two or more babies there have been in each deprivation quintile in each year since 2001, broken down by NHS board and also expressed as a percentage of all births in that area.

Nicola Sturgeon: The following table shows multiple pregnancy number and rates, by NHS board and deprivation quintile, for financial years 2000-01 to 2006-07. It has been necessary to group individual years’ data into three-year rolling aggregates due to the small numbers involved.

  Multiple pregnancies (number and percentage of all pregnancies) by NHS board of residence and Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintile1; by financial year; three-year rolling aggregates 2000-01 - 2002-03 to 2004-05 – 2006-07:

  

 


  2000-01 – 2002-03




  Deprivation Quintile




  SIMD 1


  SIMD 2


  SIMD 3


  SIMD 4


  SIMD 5


  Total2 



Multiple Pregnancies
 
 
 
 
 
 



Scotland3 


  519


  432


  428


  433


  472


  2,302



NHS Ayrshire and Arran


  21


  33


  32


  55


  41


  182



NHS Borders


  5


  20


  14


  4


  -


  43



NHS Dumfries and Galloway


  8


  9


  11


  10


  7


  45



NHS Fife


  27


  24


  35


  34


  34


  154



NHS Forth Valley


  31


  24


  13


  20


  20


  108



NHS Grampian


  77


  67


  60


  27


  18


  249



NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde


  140


  63


  79


  89


  199


  570



NHS Highland


  15


  30


  52


  28


  15


  140



NHS Lanarkshire


  36


  33


  50


  71


  63


  253



NHS Lothian


  130


  74


  40


  62


  40


  346



NHS Orkney


  1


  2


  6


  -


  -


  9



NHS Shetland


  -


  2


  1


  2


  -


  5



NHS Tayside


  28


  51


  32


  28


  35


  174



NHS Western Isles


  -


  -


  3


  3


  -


  6



Percentage of All Pregnancies
 
 
 
 
 



Scotland3 


  1.8


  1.6


  1.5


  1.4


  1.2


  1.5



NHS Ayrshire and Arran


  1.4


  2.5


  2.1


  1.7


  1.3


  1.7



NHS Borders


  1.3


  1.7


  1.6


  1.3


  -


  1.5



NHS Dumfries and Galloway


  3


  1


  0.8


  1.3


  1.4


  1.2



NHS Fife


  1.7


  1.2


  1.7


  1.6


  1.3


  1.5



NHS Forth Valley


  2


  1.4


  0.9


  0.9


  1.3


  1.3


NHS Grampian

1.5

1.8

1.8

1.4

1.3

1.6


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

2.2

1.4

1.7

1.5

1.3

1.5


NHS Highland

2.2

1.6

1.8

1.7

1.4

1.7


NHS Lanarkshire

1.7

1.5

1.4

1.6

1.2

1.4


NHS Lothian

1.8

1.7

1.1

1.3

1

1.4


NHS Orkney

2.7

1.1

2.8

-

-

2


NHS Shetland

-

1.1

0.3

1.9

-

0.8



NHS Tayside

1.7

1.7

1.9

1.3

1.3

1.6



NHS Western Isles

-

-

1.2

0.7

-

0.9



  

 

2001-02 – 2003-04



Deprivation Quintile



SIMD 1

SIMD 2

SIMD 3

SIMD 4

SIMD 5

Total2


Multiple Pregnancies
 
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland3

526

456

431

440

491

2,359


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

22

36

32

54

41

185


NHS Borders

4

14

14

3

-

35


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

9

8

14

15

7

53


NHS Fife

21

35

37

34

30

157


NHS Forth Valley 

28

27

12

24

19

110


NHS Grampian

76

68

62

28

13

247


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

149

67

81

99

215

611


NHS Highland

12

29

49

19

16

125


NHS Lanarkshire

32

29

48

65

69

243


NHS Lothian

142

80

41

63

39

365


NHS Orkney

1

2

7

-

-

10


NHS Shetland

-

3

3

-

-

6


NHS Tayside

30

58

28

33

42

191


NHS Western Isles

-

-

3

3

-

6


Percentage of All Pregnancies
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland3

1.8

1.7

1.6

1.5

1.3

1.5


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

1.5

2.7

2.2

1.7

1.3

1.8


NHS Borders

1

1.2

1.6

1

-

1.2


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

3.4

0.9

1

2

1.4

1.4


NHS Fife

1.2

1.7

1.8

1.6

1.2

1.5


NHS Forth Valley 

1.9

1.5

0.8

1.1

1.2

1.3


NHS Grampian

1.5

1.8

1.9

1.4

0.9

1.6


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

2.4

1.4

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.6


NHS Highland

1.9

1.5

1.7

1.1

1.6

1.5


NHS Lanarkshire

1.5

1.3

1.3

1.4

1.3

1.4


NHS Lothian

1.9

1.8

1.1

1.3

1

1.5


NHS Orkney

2.4

1.1

3.1

-

-

2.1


NHS Shetland

-

1.6

0.9

-

-

0.9


NHS Tayside

1.8

1.9

1.7

1.6

1.5

1.7


NHS Western Isles

-

-

1.2

0.7

-

0.9



  

 

2002-03 – 2004-05



Deprivation Quintile



SIMD 1

SIMD 2

SIMD 3

SIMD 4

SIMD 5

Total2


Multiple Pregnancies
 
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland3

505

469

434

439

472

2,332


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

30

34

27

43

40

174


NHS Borders

6

17

20

6

2

51


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

11

10

18

15

4

58


NHS Fife

22

39

33

28

31

153


NHS Forth Valley 

24

24

15

30

18

111


NHS Grampian

75

67

58

22

14

236


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

128

75

85

108

214

610


NHS Highland

9

28

43

16

13

109


NHS Lanarkshire

41

34

59

65

69

268


NHS Lothian

133

86

49

71

40

379


NHS Orkney

1

4

4

-

-

9


NHS Shetland

-

4

4

1

-

9


NHS Tayside

25

47

17

26

27

142


NHS Western Isles

-

-

2

8

-

10


Percentage of All Pregnancies
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland3

1.8

1.7

1.5

1.4

1.2

1.5


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

2

2.4

1.8

1.4

1.3

1.6


NHS Borders

1.6

1.4

2.3

1.8

1.1

1.7


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

3.8

1.1

1.2

1.9

0.7

1.5


NHS Fife

1.2

1.9

1.5

1.3

1.2

1.4


NHS Forth Valley 

1.5

1.3

0.9

1.3

1.2

1.3


NHS Grampian

1.5

1.7

1.8

1.1

1

1.5


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

2

1.6

1.8

1.7

1.3

1.6


NHS Highland

1.3

1.5

1.5

0.9

1.3

1.3


NHS Lanarkshire

2

1.5

1.5

1.4

1.3

1.5


NHS Lothian

1.8

1.9

1.4

1.5

1

1.6


NHS Orkney

2

2.2

1.6

-

-

1.8


NHS Shetland

-

2.2

1.1

1.1

-

1.3


NHS Tayside

1.5

1.5

1

1.3

1

1.3


NHS Western Isles

-

-

0.8

1.8

-

1.4



  

 

2003-04 – 2005-06



Deprivation Quintile



SIMD 1

SIMD 2

SIMD 3

SIMD 4

SIMD 5

Total2


Multiple Pregnancies
 
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland3

498

488

436

447

478

2,353


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

34

30

25

46

36

171


NHS Borders

5

21

15

7

4

52


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

6

8

21

13

5

53


NHS Fife

24

38

38

31

30

161


NHS Forth Valley 

27

28

23

34

23

135


NHS Grampian

80

71

46

21

14

232


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

135

91

82

104

213

625


NHS Highland

9

32

46

19

14

120


NHS Lanarkshire

32

41

64

63

76

276


NHS Lothian

129

86

53

75

44

387


NHS Orkney

1

3

4

-

-

8


NHS Shetland

-

4

5

1

-

10


NHS Tayside

16

35

12

23

19

105


NHS Western Isles

-

-

2

10

-

12


Percentage of All Pregnancies
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland3

1.8

1.7

1.5

1.4

1.2

1.5


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

2.4

2

1.6

1.4

1.2

1.6


NHS Borders

1.3

1.8

1.8

2.2

2

1.8


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

2.3

0.9

1.4

1.7

0.8

1.3


NHS Fife

1.3

1.9

1.6

1.4

1.2

1.5


NHS Forth Valley 

1.6

1.4

1.4

1.5

1.4

1.5


NHS Grampian

1.6

1.7

1.4

1

1

1.5


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

2.2

1.9

1.7

1.6

1.3

1.6


NHS Highland

1.3

1.6

1.5

1.1

1.3

1.4


NHS Lanarkshire

1.6

1.8

1.7

1.4

1.5

1.5


NHS Lothian

1.8

1.8

1.5

1.5

1

1.6



NHS Orkney

2.1

1.7

1.5

-

-

1.6



NHS Shetland

-

2.1

1.4

1.1

-

1.5



NHS Tayside

1

1.1

0.7

1.1

0.7

0.9



NHS Western Isles

-

-

0.8

2.4

-

1.8



  

 

2004-05 – 2006-07



Deprivation Quintile



SIMD 1

SIMD 2

SIMD 3

SIMD 4

SIMD 5

Total2


Multiple Pregnancies
 
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland3

484

483

436

470

464

2,350


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

35

30

24

49

34

173


NHS Borders

4

24

17

9

5

59


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

6

15

24

8

10

63


NHS Fife

36

25

36

24

36

157


NHS Forth Valley 

26

27

24

37

24

138


NHS Grampian

85

75

33

28

20

241


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

108

98

84

115

203

608


NHS Highland

11

34

38

19

14

116


NHS Lanarkshire

30

46

72

68

68

284


NHS Lothian

130

80

57

81

40

388


NHS Orkney

1

4

-

-

-

5


NHS Shetland

-

3

5

2

-

10


NHS Tayside

12

22

21

18

10

83


NHS Western Isles

-

-

1

12

-

13


Percentage of All Pregnancies
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland3

1.7

1.7

1.5

1.5

1.2

1.5


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

2.6

2

1.5

1.5

1.1

1.6


NHS Borders

1.1

1.9

2

2.7

2.8

2


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

2.3

1.6

1.5

1

1.6

1.5


NHS Fife

1.9

1.2

1.5

1

1.4

1.4


NHS Forth Valley 

1.6

1.4

1.4

1.6

1.5

1.5


NHS Grampian

1.7

1.7

0.9

1.3

1.4

1.5


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

1.8

2.1

1.8

1.7

1.2

1.6


NHS Highland

1.5

1.7

1.3

1.2

1.3

1.4


NHS Lanarkshire

1.6

2.1

1.8

1.5

1.3

1.6


NHS Lothian

1.8

1.7

1.6

1.6

0.9

1.5


NHS Orkney

1.8

1.9

-

-

-

0.9


NHS Shetland

-

1.5

1.3

2.1

-

1.4


NHS Tayside

0.8

0.7

1.3

0.9

0.4

0.8


NHS Western Isles

-

-

0.4

2.7

-

1.8



  Source: SMR02, ISD Scotland, Ref: IR2009-01812 (S3W-26100).

  Notes:

  1. Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. 1 = Least Deprived, 5 = Most Deprived. The SIMD has six domains (income, employment, education, housing, health and geographical access) at datazone level, which have been combined into an overall index.

  2. It has not been possible to derive a SIMD quintile for a small number of cases, due to missing/invalid postcode. These cases have been included in the totals.

  3. Includes births where NHS board of residence is unknown or outside Scotland.

Maternity Services

Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of women in each deprivation quintile were recorded as smokers at maternity booking in each year since 2001, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: The requested information for financial years 2001-02 to 2006-07 is shown on the following table.

  Smoking at booking (number of current smokers and percentage of all mothers) by NHS board of residence and Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintile1; Financial years 2001-02 to 2006-07:

  

 

2001-02



Deprivation Quintile



SIMD 1

SIMD 2

SIMD 3

SIMD 4

SIMD 5

Total2


Number of Current Smokers
 
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland3

815

1,346

2,070

3,091

5,399

12,759


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

45

67

134

341

472

1,059


NHS Borders

13

75

76

30

48

242


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

16

49

87

92

58

302


NHS Fife

51

112

198

240

383

984


NHS Forth Valley

50

96

125

245

257

773


NHS Grampian

152

200

284

235

222

1,093


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

221

197

350

575

2,223

3,566


NHS Highland

30

120

187

199

162

698


NHS Lanarkshire

59

125

258

456

774

1,672


NHS Lothian

112

125

183

348

382

1,150


NHS Tayside

64

173

145

298

418

1,098


Islands4

2

7

43

32

-

84


Percentage of All Mothers
 
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland3

8.7

15

22.8

31

43.1

25.5


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

9.2

15.4

27.7

31.8

44.9

30


NHS Borders

9.5

18.1

26.3

29.4

60.8

23.7


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

19.3

16.7

21.3

36.4

38.9

25.4


NHS Fife

9.4

16.5

28.3

34.2

45.3

28.4


NHS Forth Valley

10.5

17.7

27.2

34.1

50.1

28.5


NHS Grampian

9.5

16.5

26.3

37

47.8

21.9


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

10.4

13.2

23.1

28.6

43.6

29.2



NHS Highland

14.4

18.8

19.9

34.9

50.5

26.1



NHS Lanarkshire

8.5

16.8

21.7

31.1

44

28.6



NHS Lothian

4.5

8.9

15.4

22.9

28.4

14.5



NHS Tayside

12.2

17.5

24.5

41.4

46.9

29.6



Islands4

9.1

5.6

16.9

17

-

14.3



  

 

2002-03



Deprivation Quintile



SIMD 1

SIMD 2

SIMD 3

SIMD 4

SIMD 5

Total2


Number of Current Smokers
 
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland3

825

1,363

2,081

3,086

5,327

12,712


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

45

62

115

331

461

1,014


NHS Borders

19

74

75

43

35

246


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

15

49

121

87

89

361


NHS Fife

42

119

172

273

403

1,009


NHS Forth Valley

48

96

117

261

233

755


NHS Grampian

213

231

305

274

239

1,262


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

160

204

294

472

2,067

3,197


NHS Highland

35

85

191

182

162

655


NHS Lanarkshire

51

124

260

449

729

1,613


NHS Lothian

139

165

227

417

459

1,407


NHS Tayside

56

141

148

257

450

1,052


Islands4

2

13

56

40

-

111



Percentage of All Mothers
 
 
 
 
 
 



Scotland3

8.6

15.2

22.8

31.2

42.8

25.3



NHS Ayrshire and Arran

9.2

15.1

24

32.6

46.1

29.9



NHS Borders

15.7

19.6

25.3

43.9

57.4

25.8



NHS Dumfries and Galloway

14.9

16.3

26.1

34.4

52

28


NHS Fife

7.8

16.7

25

39.7

49.1

29.3


NHS Forth Valley

9.6

16.7

24.7

35.6

45.2

27


NHS Grampian

12.3

18.5

27.6

40.2

53.2

24.2


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

7.6

13.7

19.8

23.5

39.9

26


NHS Highland

16.2

13.8

20.6

33.6

46.7

24.8


NHS Lanarkshire

7.2

16.8

21.1

30

43.2

27.5


NHS Lothian

5.6

11.7

19.4

27.2

36.1

17.9


NHS Tayside

9.9

14.3

28

38.8

48.5

28.7


Islands4

7.7

10.6

19.5

21.4

-

17.8



  

 

2003-04



Deprivation Quintile



SIMD 1

SIMD 2

SIMD 3

SIMD 4

SIMD 5

Total2


Number of Current Smokers
 
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland3

790

1,393

1,997

3,084

5,080

12,377


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

48

62

117

361

431

1,019


NHS Borders

22

75

70

35

41

243


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

9

44

99

65

69

286


NHS Fife

49

109

194

287

354

993


NHS Forth Valley

44

89

131

249

234

747


NHS Grampian

189

252

287

254

235

1,217


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

164

202

279

470

1,978

3,093


NHS Highland

26

100

169

180

161

636


NHS Lanarkshire

39

101

242

426

656

1,464


NHS Lothian

135

173

232

473

448

1,461


NHS Tayside

62

179

135

259

473

1,108


Islands4

3

7

42

25

-

77


Percentage of All Mothers
 
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland3

8.2

14.5

21

30

39.7

23.8


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

9.4

13.1

22.7

33.4

43.5

28.5


NHS Borders

17.1

20.4

23.5

32.4

53.2

24.8


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

11

14.8

19.6

26.1

39.9

21.9


NHS Fife

7.9

16.1

27.8

37.5

42.5

27.7


NHS Forth Valley

8.3

13.9

25.3

33.3

45.3

25.3


NHS Grampian

11.9

18.8

27.3

39.1

51.1

23.9


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

7.8

12.3

17.4

23.3

37.1

24.3


NHS Highland

12.1

15.6

17

31

47.4

23


NHS Lanarkshire

5.5

13.9

18.9

27.7

38.5

24.5


NHS Lothian

5.4

11.2

19.1

28.6

33

17.7


NHS Tayside

10.7

16.1

23.5

36.8

47.5

28


Islands4

10.7

5.6

14.8

13.7

-

12.4



  

 

2004-05



Deprivation Quintile



SIMD 1

SIMD 2

SIMD 3

SIMD 4

SIMD 5

Total2



Number of Current Smokers
 
 
 
 
 
 



Scotland3

690

1,282

1,975

2,900

4,944

11,851



NHS Ayrshire and Arran

36

68

112

366

482

1,064



NHS Borders

25

94

74

48

37

278



NHS Dumfries and Galloway

9

38

116

94

89

346



NHS Fife

41

115

218

255

393

1,022



NHS Forth Valley

32

78

122

256

231

719


NHS Grampian

170

234

279

245

195

1,123


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

148

192

310

507

1,971

3,128


NHS Highland

29

104

168

163

147

611


NHS Lanarkshire

57

104

263

403

713

1,540


NHS Lothian

94

123

160

302

353

1,032


NHS Tayside

48

118

110

226

333

835


Islands4

1

14

43

35

-

93


Percentage of All Mothers
 
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland3

7.2

13.3

20.3

27.6

38.3

22.5


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

7.7

13.2

21.7

34.7

46.2

29.6


NHS Borders

19.4

21.8

26.7

40.3

72.5

27.6


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

8.5

13.4

22.9

33.8

46.4

25.3


NHS Fife

6.7

16.9

26.9

34.3

46.3

27.7


NHS Forth Valley

5.8

11.6

20.6

33.3

44.5

23.2


NHS Grampian

10.2

17.3

25.1

34.5

44.5

21.3


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

7

11.7

19.4

23.2

36.2

24.1


NHS Highland

11.5

15.7

17.1

28.6

44.4

21.8


NHS Lanarkshire

8.5

13.6

19.7

26

40.4

25.3


NHS Lothian

3.9

8.1

13.9

18

25.3

12.6


NHS Tayside

9.2

12.2

19.7

33.5

38.2

23.2


Islands4

2.7

11.9

15

19.1

-

14.9



  

 

2005-06



Deprivation Quintile



SIMD 1

SIMD 2

SIMD 3

SIMD 4

SIMD 5

Total2


Number of Current Smokers
 
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland3

712

1,266

1,905

2,747

4,670

11,333


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

43

68

105

340

468

1,024


NHS Borders

24

87

91

35

39

276


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

8

54

124

97

109

392


NHS Fife

40

93

205

249

363

950


NHS Forth Valley

37

91

121

245

235

729


NHS Grampian

164

242

258

263

234

1,161


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

184

165

236

477

1,773

2,835


NHS Highland

36

107

217

145

175

680


NHS Lanarkshire

43

94

219

354

635

1,345


NHS Lothian

91

123

170

340

364

1,088


NHS Tayside

40

130

111

176

275

732


Islands4

2

12

48

26

-

88


Percentage of All Mothers
 
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland3

7.8

13.2

19.7

26.3

35.3

21.7


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

9.6

14.2

21

30.7

43.9

28.4


NHS Borders

20.5

22.1

32.7

36.8

53.4

28.9


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

11.4

17.4

24.2

39

47.6

28.6


NHS Fife

6.4

13.8

25.3

32.8

43.6

25.6


NHS Forth Valley

6.6

14

21.7

31.5

42.3

23.5


NHS Grampian

10.3

17.3

22.7

38.2

48.8

21.9


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

9.5

10.9

15.6

21.5

32

22.3


NHS Highland

16

16.4

20.9

28

46.7

24.2


NHS Lanarkshire

6.8

12.6

17.5

24

38

23.3



NHS Lothian

3.8

7.7

13.9

19.9

25.1

13



NHS Tayside

8.5

12.5

20.1

26.9

29.2

20



Islands4

8

9.5

16.2

14.8

-

14.1



  

 

2006-07



Deprivation Quintile



SIMD 1

SIMD 2

SIMD 3

SIMD 4

SIMD 5

Total2


Number of Current Smokers
 
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland3

697

1,257

1,944

2,864

4,464

11,265


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

41

65

101

360

474

1,041


NHS Borders

22

80

82

40

24

248


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

10

44

113

82

83

332


NHS Fife

40

95

193

270

371

970


NHS Forth Valley

48

81

113

256

254

752


NHS Grampian

168

245

308

237

215

1,173


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

123

130

217

422

1,479

2,372


NHS Highland

30

105

197

173

139

645


NHS Lanarkshire

42

81

232

339

639

1,333


NHS Lothian

132

194

246

480

502

1,554


NHS Tayside

39

115

104

178

284

720


Islands4

2

22

38

27

-

89


Percentage of All Mothers
 
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland3

7.5

12.7

19.2

25.8

33.3

20.8


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

9.5

12.2

18.8

30.7

43.3

27.6


NHS Borders

19.8

17.8

27.3

33.1

42.1

23.9


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

11.5

13.5

21.3

27.6

43.9

23.2


NHS Fife

6.2

13.7

24.2

33.2

42.3

25.3


NHS Forth Valley

8.8

12.7

19.3

30.9

43.8

23.7


NHS Grampian

9.8

15.5

25.2

32

40.7

20.3


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

6.5

8.3

13.4

18.8

26.4

18.3


NHS Highland

11.9

15.2

21

33.2

41.9

23.6



NHS Lanarkshire

6.8

11.5

16.4

20.4

34.8

21.4



NHS Lothian

5.3

12.2

19.1

26.7

35.3

18.1



NHS Tayside

8.7

12.2

18.5

26.4

31.4

20.4



Islands4

5.3

13.4

11.6

12.9

-

12



  Source: SMR02, ISD Scotland, Ref: IR2009-01813 (S3W-26101).

  Notes:

  1. Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. 1 = Least Deprived, 5 = Most Deprived. The SIMD has six domains (income, employment, education, housing, health and geographical access) at datazone level, which have been combined into an overall index.

  2. It has not been possible to derive a SIMD quintile for a small number of cases, due to missing/invalid postcodes. These cases have been included in the totals.

  3. Includes births where NHS board of residence is unknown or outside Scotland.

  4. Includes Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles NHS boards.

Maternity Services

Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of babies in each deprivation quintile discharged in each year since 2001 had an ICD10 code of (a) P04.4 (foetus and newborn affected by maternal use of drugs of addiction) or (b) P96.1 (neonatal withdrawal symptoms from maternal use of drug addiction), broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: Babies discharged from neonatal units 1 with diagnoses recording maternal drug misuse 2 by NHS board of residence and Scottish index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintile 3 ; aggregated financial years 2001-05 to 2003-07:

  

 

2001-05



Deprivation Quintile



SIMD 1

SIMD 2

SIMD 3

SIMD 4

SIMD 5

Total4


Number of Babies
 
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland5

46

88

148

328

884

1,494


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

*

*

8

39

68

122


NHS Borders

-

-

-

*

*

*


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

-

7

14

19

25

65


NHS Fife

*

*

7

17

29

62


NHS Forth Valley

*

*

7

17

21

52


NHS Grampian

25

38

53

103

150

369


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

*

*

21

45

359

435


NHS Highland

*

*

12

5

16

37


NHS Lanarkshire

*

*

9

36

65

116


NHS Lothian

*

11

*

30

72

123


NHS Tayside

*

*

7

15

78

108


NHS Islands6

-

-

*

*

*

*


Rate per 1,000 Live Births
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland5

0.9

1.9

3.1

6.4

13.8

5.8


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

*

*

3.1

7.3

13.2

6.8


NHS Borders

-

-

-

*

*

*


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

-

4.7

5.9

14.7

28.2

10


NHS Fife

*

*

1.9

4.6

6.9

3.5


NHS Forth Valley

*

*

2.8

4.6

8

3.6


NHS Grampian

3

5.8

9.6

30.8

64.7

14.2


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

*

*

2.7

4.3

13.5

6.8


NHS Highland

*

*

2.4

1.7

9.2

2.7


NHS Lanarkshire

*

*

1.4

4.8

7.4

3.9


NHS Lothian

*

1.5

*

3.7

10.6

3


NHS Tayside

*

*

2.4

4.3

16.7

5.7


NHS Islands6

-

-

*

*

*

*



  

 

2002-06



Deprivation Quintile



SIMD 1

SIMD 2

SIMD 3

SIMD 4

SIMD 5

Total4


Number of Babies
 
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland5

40

75

155

331

876

1,477


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

*

*

9

36

63

117


NHS Borders

-

*

-

*

*

*


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

-

7

12

20

26

65


NHS Fife

*

*

11

24

29

72


NHS Forth Valley

*

*

*

15

21

46


NHS Grampian

18

23

49

96

142

328


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

*

*

20

37

338

406


NHS Highland

*

*

12

6

16

36


NHS Lanarkshire

*

*

10

39

73

128


NHS Lothian

*

*

14

39

76

146


NHS Tayside

*

*

12

18

91

128


NHS Islands6

-

-

*

*

*

*


Rate per 1,000 Live Births
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland5

0.8

1.6

3.3

6.4

13.6

5.7


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

*

*

3.6

6.7

12.1

6.5


NHS Borders

-

*

-

*

*

*


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

-

4.7

5

15.4

28.2

9.9


NHS Fife

*

*

2.9

6.5

6.9

4


NHS Forth Valley

*

*

*

4

7.9

3.1


NHS Grampian

2.2

3.5

8.8

28.4

61.9

12.5


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

*

*

2.6

3.5

12.6

6.4


NHS Highland

*

*

2.4

2.1

9.2

2.6


NHS Lanarkshire

*

*

1.6

5.1

8.4

4.3


NHS Lothian

*

*

2.3

4.8

11.1

3.6


NHS Tayside

*

*

4.3

5.2

19.6

6.8


NHS Islands6

-

-

*

*

*

*



  

 

2003-07



Deprivation Quintile



SIMD 1

SIMD 2

SIMD 3

SIMD 4

SIMD 5

Total4


Number of Babies
 
 
 
 
 
 


Scotland5

37

81

176

349

911

1,554


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

*

*

9

36

62

114


NHS Borders

-

*

*

*

-

*


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

-

6

13

21

23

63


NHS Fife

*

*

14

23

38

80


NHS Forth Valley

*

*

*

15

21

45


NHS Grampian

15

28

52

83

123

301


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

5

8

28

50

361

452


NHS Highland

*

*

10

6

22

41


NHS Lanarkshire

*

*

11

40

75

132


NHS Lothian

*

*

17

46

75

156


NHS Tayside

*

*

16

28

111

165


NHS Islands6

-

-

*

*

-

*


Rate per 1,000 Live Births












Scotland5

0.8

1.7

3.6

6.6

14

5.9


NHS Ayrshire and Arran

*

*

3.5

6.6

11.8

6.3


NHS Borders

-

*

*

*

-

*


NHS Dumfries and Galloway

-

3.9

5.1

15.6

23.9

9.2


NHS Fife

*

*

3.7

6.1

8.9

4.3


NHS Forth Valley

*

*

*

3.9

7.8

2.9


NHS Grampian

1.8

4

9.2

23.7

52.1

11.2


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

0.5

1

3.5

4.6

13.2

7


NHS Highland

*

*

2

2.2

12.7

3


NHS Lanarkshire

*

*

1.7

5.1

8.6

4.4


NHS Lothian

*

*

2.8

5.4

10.8

3.7


NHS Tayside

*

*

5.7

8.3

23.9

8.9


NHS Islands6

-

-

*

*

-

*



  Source: SBR & SMR11, ISD Scotland, Ref: IR2009-01814 (S3W-26102).

  Notes:

  *Indicates values that have been suppressed due to the potential risk of disclosure.

  1. Care should be taken when interpreting these data as recording practice of drug misuse diagnosis may vary between hospitals. In addition, the Scottish Birth Record, which replaced SMR11, has been implemented incrementally throughout Scotland and therefore data should be treated with caution. We are also aware that some outstanding clinical coding has been entered on the SBR and figures for recent years have increased and differ from those previously published.

  2. Drug misuse is defined using the following International Classification of Disease (10th Revision) codes: P04.4, P96.1.

  3. Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. 1 = Least Deprived, 5 = Most Deprived. The SIMD has six domains (income, employment, education, housing, health and geographical access) at datazone level, which have been combined into an overall index.

  4. It has not been possible to derive a SIMD quintile for a small number of cases, due to missing/invalid postcodes. These cases have been included in the totals.

  5. Includes births where NHS board of residence is unknown or outside Scotland.

  6. Includes Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles NHS boards.

Mental Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will outline the composition and operation of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is lay representation on the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive who monitors the work of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland.

Nicola Sturgeon: This information is available on the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland’s website at www.mhtscotland.gov.uk .

Mental Health

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to address failures to comply with Part 5 of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000, as reported in Remember, I’m still me , the joint report by the Care Commission and Mental Welfare Commission, to review these failures as a matter of urgency and to ensure that section 47 certificates are in place before treatment takes place for those who are unable to give or refuse consent to medical treatment.

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will issue guidance on the use of section 47 certificates to authorise covert medication in care homes.

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to address the use of section 47 certificates for ongoing planned restraint in care homes, as reported in Remember, I’m still me .

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has accepted all the recommendations in the Remember, I’m Still Me  report. The implementation of Part 5 of the Adults with Incapacity Act 2000, and whether action needs to be taken to improve routine compliance with its requirements, will be considered as part of the work we are taking forward in partnership with key stakeholders through the development of the Dementia Strategy. Under the act, it is incumbent on the medical practitioner primarily responsible for the medical treatment of an adult to complete a section 47 certificate, once they have established that the adult is incapable in relation to a decision about the medical treatment in question.

  Part 5 of the act and certification under section 47 should not be used as justification for the administration of unwanted, unnecessary or potentially harmful medication whether such medication is given covertly or otherwise. Subsection 47(7) of the act prohibits the use of force or detention, unless it is immediately necessary in the circumstances.

  In March 2008, we issued Chief Executive Letter (CEL) 11 (2008) to NHS Scotland. This provided a revised code of practice for Part 5 of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. The CEL can be accessed at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/13114117/0.

  In view of the concerns raised in the report, we will reissue the revised code of practice to NHS Scotland and its affiliates, with a covering letter from the Scottish Government, underlining the importance of complying with the terms of the Adults with Incapacity Act. We will also make clear that, in normal circumstances, section 47 certificates should be completed before treatment commences and that certification under section 47 should not be used as a tool to administer covert medication or for planned restraint.

Ministerial Engagements

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-23634 by John Swinney on 18 June 2009, on which dates and to which engagements the First Minister travelled by train.

John Swinney: The First Minister travelled from London to Edinburgh by train on 16 December on the final leg of his return journey from his official visit to Barcelona.

Ministerial Engagements

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason it has not updated the list of ministerial engagements on its website for six months.

John Swinney: We intend to publish this information shortly.

Police

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff have been employed at the Aberdeen branch of the Scottish Police Services Authority Forensic Services in each year since 1 April 2007.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) full- time and (b) part-time staff have been employed at the Dundee branch of the Scottish Police Services Authority Forensic Services in each year since 1 April 2007.

Kenny MacAskill: The provision of police forensic science services is an operational matter for the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA). The Scottish Government does not collect information on the number of SPSA staff employed in Aberdeen or Dundee.

Procurement

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to reduce the number of consultancy contracts entered into by non-departmental public bodies (NDPB) and use in-house staff where appropriate.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government published guidance on the use of consultants on its website on 24 April 2009, emphasising that consultants are only to be used where absolutely necessary to deliver an organisation’s specific objectives, and introducing strict controls over the authorisation of expenditure on consultants. This guidance currently applies to Scottish Government, but we are discussing with NDPBs how best to apply the guidance to their situation. Our aim is to see an overall reduction in expenditure on consultancy services across the public sector, continuing the downward trend in use of consultancy services highlighted in recent figures released by Transport Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Enterprise.

Procurement

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to ensure the most economical procurement route for non-departmental public body (NDPB) contracts.

John Swinney: As part of the Public Procurement Reform Programme, the Central Government Centre of Procurement Expertise (CGCoPE) and Procurement Scotland (PS) were set up within the Scottish Procurement Directorate (SPD). These organisations help NDPBs to access collaborative procurement solutions, reduce the need to run their own competitions and focus on improved delivery of procurement requirements appropriate to their organisation.

  SPD provides a wide range of advice and guidance to assist suppliers and purchasers in the delivery of efficient and cost-effective procurement services to the wider public sector. In addition, the Public Scotland Contracts portal, www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk, gives free access to public sector contract opportunities in Scotland for suppliers and purchasers alike.

Scottish Futures Trust

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on hiring consultants to oversee the recruitment process for each Scottish Futures Trust post advertised in Scotland on Sunday on 21 June 2009.

John Swinney: I have asked Barry White, Chief Executive of the Scottish Futures Trust to respond. His response is as follows:

  The costs associated with hiring consultants to carry out the recruitment of Scottish Futures Trust staff will not be known until the recruitment round is complete.

Scottish Government Expenditure

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each of its directorates has spent on travel costs for Cabinet members and staff since May 2007, broken down by journey and mode of transport.

John Swinney: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate costs.

Student Finance

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many biomedical science students have applied for and received a bursary of £2,000 to encourage them to work in the NHS after graduation in each academic year since 2007-08, broken down by university.

Nicola Sturgeon: In response to the question above, the table below details the number of bursaries for each institution. All students who applied for the bursary were awarded it.

  

Institution
Number of Biomedical Bursaries Awarded in the 2007-08 Session
Number of Biomedical Bursaries Awarded in the 2008-09 Session


Glasgow Caledonian University
23
62


The Robert Gordon University
23
49


University of Abertay Dundee
10
17


University of the West of Scotland
3
8


Total
59
136



  Source: The data was supplied from the SAAS NHS Bursary Database.

Vaccinations

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps will be taken to ensure that children with asthma are given priority in the first tranche of the programme of vaccination against the influenza A(H1N1) virus.

Nicola Sturgeon: As announced on 13 August, people aged over six months and up to 65 years in the current seasonal flu vaccine clinical at-risk groups will be the first priority group to be vaccinated against the influenza A(H1N1) virus.

  Children with asthma are included in this at-risk group.

Wildlife

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether deer stalkers from outwith Scotland could be included on the register of persons competent to shoot deer proposed in its consultation on the proposed Wildlife and Natural Environment Bill.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how deer stalkers from outwith Scotland might demonstrate skills and knowledge in public safety, deer welfare and food safety as proposed in its consultation on the proposed Wildlife and Natural Environment Bill.

Roseanna Cunningham: Yes. The intention of the proposal is that the same requirements would apply to deer stalkers regardless of residence. The skills required would be based on the current voluntary system operated by a variety of providers based in England and Scotland. The intention would also be to offer recognition to equivalent foreign qualifications and the means for achieving that are currently under consideration. Deer stalkers who did not wish to register would be permitted to continue to shoot, provided that they were supervised by a suitably qualified person when doing so.